BLOG

Basics of Bible Prophecy Fulfillment: Part 4

I have a few more thoughts on the question of who has the divine right to rule in the Kingdom of God, which I believe are both relevant and important to this discussion.

Adam was given dominion over the earth, but he lost it when he sinned. God would not allow him to rule the earth in his sinful condition, because he had no right to rule apart from being fully submitted to the will of God. The fact that Adam was of a pure race did not prevent God from disinheriting him. And only those who repent (Passover), and who are filled with the Spirit (Pentecost), and who finally come to full spiritual maturity (Tabernacles) will qualify to rule the earth. It is a matter of character, not of genealogy.

God called Jacob and rejected Esau even before they were born, but even then, God did not give Jacob the name "Israel" until he was 98 years old. It was only after Jacob had learned not to be a usurper that God would entrust him with this calling.

Jacob's oldest son was Reuben. He should have received the birthright, but lost it because of character issues (1 Chron. 5:1, 2). There was nothing wrong with his genealogy, and it was not simply because his mother was Leah, rather than Rachel. The divine law specified that the oldest son could not be disinherited except for lawful causes (Deut. 21:15-23). Reuben lost the birthright because of sin--not genealogy.

In fact, the next two sons (Simeon and Levi) were also rejected because they were men of violence. In Gen. 49:5-7, Jacob said of them, "Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council; let not my glory be united with their assembly; because in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they lamed oxen. Cursed be their anger; for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel."

Simeon's territory in Canaan was south of Judah. It was not long before their tribal land was absorbed by Judah and they were lost from sight as a tribe. As for Levi, God gave the priesthood to Levi, but gave them no land inheritance in Israel.

In Jesus' day, the Levitical priests proved their bloodthirsty character by insisting upon His crucifixion, thus fulfilling Jacob's prophetic words. And Judah, which had absorbed Simeon, also contained a violent strain within that nation.

The point is this: The Levitical priesthood was ultimately rejected by God to minister to Him. It was replaced by the Melchisedec Priesthood, with Jesus Christ as the High Priest of the Order of Melchisedec (Heb. 7:17). This order of priests were chosen for their character--not for their genealogy (Heb. 7:3, 6), unlike the Levitical Order.

The tribe of Judah was chosen to bring forth the Messiah--and it did, as a nation. But when we look at individual applications, we see clearly that not every member of the tribe of Judah was "chosen." In fact, Jeremiah 24 speaks of two kinds of Judahites ("Jews") in terms of good figs and evil figs. The good ones would be blessed; the evil ones would be scattered and destroyed (Jer. 24:8-10), regardless of their genealogy.

The only "chosen" people today, from a biblical standpoint, are those who follow Jesus and accept Him as the King. Those who revolted against Him and who consented in His crucifixion are evil figs and are not "chosen."

Thus, a Jew who hates or does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah is NOT one of the "chosen people." And those Jews who DO accept Jesus as Messiah are no more chosen than the rest of us who follow Jesus Christ. God is looking for character, not genealogy.

In Jesus' parable in Luke 12:42-49, He gives the basic qualifications of rulership but mentions nothing about genealogical qualifications. The same is true in Luke 19, where Jesus specifically tells us that the "citizens" (Jews) hated him (Jesus) and refused to have Him reign over them (Luke 19:14). Of them, Jesus said in verse 27, "But those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here [to Jerusalem] and slay them in my presence."

God is using the Jewish Zionists and Christian Zionists to fulfill this prophecy. Zionism has brought those who hated Jesus back to Jerusalem--not to restore "Israel" but to destroy Jesus' "enemies" who still hate Him to this day. They had to be brought back to the place of the original crime for judgment.

On the other hand, Jesus speaks of giving His servants rule over various numbers of "cities" to reward their faithfulness (Luke 19:17 & 19). The obvious implication is that the unbelieving Jews would NOT be chosen to rule over any cities, but would be judged for their revolt against the King.

Without understanding these basic prophetic principles, one can never really understand what is going on in history today. It is my calling to give you a better understanding of these things and to warn people to stay away from the Israeli state, lest they be part of the company that fulfills Jesus' prophecy.